CD Organization

What a mess! We have two large rectangular baskets filled with CDs that slide under our coffee table in the living room. It's a fairly good system, in that they are out of the way and we don't have to look at them. But CD cases are awkward things that take up a ton of room. 

So, my SIL Tanya gave me this great idea. She purchased large notebooks with inserts inside that accommodate CDs. Brilliant!  (And yes, that is a Neil Diamond CD case on the floor. What can I tell you, I grew up with the guy. I hear his songs and think of my dad working around the house on the weekends.)

Here are my CD notebooks. Like Tanya, I insert the booklet that comes with each CD into the slot along with the CD itself. I've organized them by classification. It looks like everything will fit with some room to spare. Now these two notebooks can fit almost anywhere. And let's face it, if you have an ipod or two, you hardly ever touch these things! 

What are we having for dinner??

For dinner this week:

M: Pasta Bolognese and Arugula Salad, T: Butternut Squash Soup, W: Date Night, Th: Beef Stew with Cornbread, F: Otsu Pasta with Tofu.

In our effort to Simplify and Organize we must talk about meal planning. As a younger adult I always thought this was a drag. I am naturally creative and spontaneous -- so the thought of meal planning made me cringe and revolt! However, as you get older, and wiser (yes, it does happen, even if you start out thinking you've got everything figured out thank you very much) you begin to recognize the wisdom of such a thing.

First: The Rules

1. At the same time every week (whatever works best for your schedule) decide what you will be serving for dinner.
2. Consider what days you will be able to make something more involved, and what days you will need something quick. Consider the "season" that you are in, and what is realistic for your schedule -- understanding that planning gives you a little more time to make things happen.
3. Some people like to rotate their menu over a two week period -- so you have 14 things and you just keep rotating over and over again. This requires less "thinking about it". When you get sick of one dish or another -- switch that one meal out.
4. Some people like to plan their meals by "type" just to give them some guidelines and make it quicker and simpler to plan. Monday is Soup Night, Tuesday is Pasta Night, Wednesday is Sandwich Night, etc., etc.
5. Keep in mind that if you plan ahead, you will be able to cook more things from scratch. Such as beans -- in the morning throw them in a bowl of water and they will be sufficiently soaked and ready for cooking by late afternoon.
6. Create a grocery list from your planned menu.
7. Go to the grocery store only ONCE a week. This will save you time and money! And don't go roaming through the aisles after you have everything "to see if there is anything else you need". This is a marketeers dream come true. Prepare to spend an extra $50. Don't do it. As soon as you have everything, leave at once!
8. Only buy what's on your list. (If you hope to save, give and/or stick to your budget this will be a huge help.)

Here are the top reasons why you should plan out your meals:

1. You will save time at the grocery store.
2. You will save money at the grocery store.
3. You won't have that blank stare on your face when you enter the grocery store as you panic asking yourself -- OK, What am I going to cook this week?
4. You won't have a stress attack trying to decide what you are going to cook this week as you try to keep your children from running wild in the aisles.
5. You won't find yourself panicked as afternoon approaches and you still haven't thought about what you are going to whip up for the family.
6. You won't find yourself rushing to get things done at the last minute because you planned for a meal that you didn't have time for b/c you picked something that sounded yummy at the last minute.
7. You will save by being able to cook more from scratch.
8. You will buy less take out and pizza.

For the Working Mother: The comment below was left by my friend an neighbor Katie who is very organized (she should be writing this) and works several days a week. She had some great suggestions, so I thought I would enclose them.

Katie Wrote: I work several days a week and have 2 young gals at home. My friends tease me, but what honestly works for me is that I plan our dinner menu for the week and actually write what we're having on the calendar (I'm sure you've seen this in my kitchen). Anyways, it helps me with grocery shopping and getting my family's meals ready as quickly as I can. There are always those occasions when we deviate from what was planned, but I try to stick to it as much as possible, if even for my own sanity during the evening hours. On the days that I work I always plan simple meals that I can pull together quickly like pancakes, sausage, fruit; pizza and Caesar salad; grilled cheese and tomato soup; or burgers on the grill with raw veggies, like cucumbers and carrot sticks. I love to cook and try new recipes and tend to do that on weekends and on my days home from work when I have a little bit more time. If, for example, I know I'm cooking chicken then I'll cook extra 'just with a little olive oil' and use it for soup or enchiladas the next night. When I make meatballs or spaghetti sauce I always make enough to freeze for another night. And when I make homemade banana, cranberry, or pumpkin breads, I always make two and freeze one. As a kid I didn't like leftovers; as a working mom - LOVE them! I cooked a chicken Monday night with all the fixins like stuffing, homemade mashed potatoes, and butternut squash. Of course there were extras and so I buttered a small casserole dish and layered the stuffing, potatoes, chicken, and gravy. My hubby was home yesterday so he just popped it in the oven and presto dinner was done and actually tasted better the next night. Hope some of my ideas are helpful!

For an At Home Mother with Young Children: For more thought provoking ideas (in case you missed this) my Sister-in-Law Tanya made this comment about how meal planning has helped her to simplify and organize her evening routine -- as she has a 3 month old, a 2 year old and a 4 year old!

Tanya Wrote: I have a new meal planning system that has been really helping me to simplify. I love to cook, but I am a creative type and tend to be indecisive and rather prone to last minute inspirations. Considering I have a 4, a 2, and a 3 month old I needed to do something different!!! I was overwhelmed at the grocery store and could barely function while managing the little ones. My daughter was over sleeping for preschool because we were eating dinner so late. Sandy sat down with me and helped me come up with an emergency plan designed for my current situation, but as I have been doing it I think it would be great for anyone trying to simplify. The basic idea is that I have a category of meal that I make for respective nights of the week. For example Monday is soup night, Tuesday is "out" night, weds is pasta night, Thursday is meat night, and Friday is sandwich night (paninis make it a bit more interesting). Weekends are more spontaneous. It makes planning and going to the grocery store so much easier. Out night is supposed to be either take-out, or eat-out but has ended up being left-over night. Thursday is my usual shopping day so I can get fresh meat or fish. For now I am limiting myself to some very simple recipes in each category. I have not found it at all boring. In fact by limiting myself I have been more enthusiastic about cooking.

Housework Part Two

Identifying the PROBLEM AREAS . . .

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Simplifying and Organizing does require some thoughtful planning. Keeping a home is a particular challenge because we aren't paid a bonus if we perform well, we don't get a review at the end of each quarter, and let's face it most of us don't attack the job of keeping a home in the same way we would a job outside of the home.

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As I've mentioned before, I grew up in an entrepreneurial manufacturing family. We literally started our business in our home -- making handbags. Before this, my father worked for various companies through the years overseeing their domestic manufacturing. So growing up my father was always doing things around the house with efficiency in mind. If we were raking leaves, painting the house, cutting firewood, carrying firewood ... you had Dad over your shoulder examining if you'd chosen an efficient technique, and of course he'd give you his input and suggestions. Years later, when it became difficult for us to compete domestically my brother decided we needed to change our manufacturing approach to LEAN Manufacturing developed by Toyota. The basic idea is that folks work in teams and are paid bonuses when they work together to come up with more efficient, higher quality ways of doing things -- and succeed. They should be constantly analysing where their problem areas are and trying to figure out what a good solution is. These same analytical techniques can work at home.

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First: Analyse what is working and what is not around your home. Where are your problem areas? Where and about what do you get frustrated? Some categories might be: laundry (I can never keep up!), meals (we are eating too late, and evenings are chaos!), keys (I can never find them!), shelves (getting a pan out of my cupboard is like wrestling barbells!), mail (I have stacks of mail everywhere!) scheduling (I keep missing appointments or remembering at the last minute) Are you getting the basic idea?

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Second: Make sure you write all of this down! Write down your problem areas and start to think of possible solutions. Hang your list up! Talk it over with your spouse and/or friends. This holds you accountable to actually do something about the problem.

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Third: Create a plan of attack. Re-write your list (after you munched on it awhile) in order of priority. Put the thing that frustrates you the most at the top ... the least, at the bottom. You can't get reorganized and simplified in one night. Attack one or two things at a time, and cross them off the list when you feel you've made some progress. This is important because it gives you a sense of accomplishment and hopefulness.

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I will probably talk more about the issue of meal planning and food shopping later, but here is an example of attacking a problem and finding a solution that my sister-in-law Tanya commented about.

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"I have a new meal planning system that has been really helping me to simplify. I love to cook, but I am a creative type and tend to be indecisive and rather prone to last minute inspirations. Considering I have a 4, a 2, and a 3 month old I needed to do something different!!! I was overwhelmed at the grocery store and could barely function while managing the little ones. My daughter was over sleeping for preschool because we were eating dinner so late. Sandy sat down with me and helped me come up with an emergency plan designed for my current situation, but as I have been doing it I think it would be great for anyone trying to simplify. The basic idea is that I have a category of meal that I make for respective nights of the week. For example Monday is soup night, Tuesday is "out" night, weds is pasta night, Thursday is meat night, and Friday is sandwich night (paninis make it a bit more interesting). Weekends are more spontaneous. It makes planning and going to the grocery store so much easier. Out night is supposed to be either take-out, or eat-out but has ended up being left-over night. Thursday is my usual shopping day so I can get fresh meat or fish. For now I am limiting myself to some very simple recipes in each category. I have not found it at all boring. In fact by limiting myself I have been more enthusiastic about cooking."

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Next time I will get more specific about certain problem areas! Good Luck!

Housework - Part One

Confession: The first time I read through Simplify Your Life I was working as a single mom and ... had a cleaning lady. Since then I've gotten remarried, had another son, made the decision to stay home for both of my boys (I was at home for my oldest before he was in school) and returned to cleaning my home on my own. So I've never worked out a proper routine. Before life with a cleaning lady my routine was no routine -- clean when I looked around and said "Damn, this place is a pit!" Blush, it's true. Kristi posted her daily cleaning routine recently and it got me to thinking about my short comings in this area. What I have been doing over the past year is blitzing the whole house in one day while both of the boys (9 & 4) are in school. The problem there is that a) Things come up, and then lo and behold, the house doesn't get clean. b) To do a really good job I can't get it all done in one day. c) Our house isn't that big - dining room, living room, kitchen, laundry room, finished basement, 2 1/2 baths, 4 bedrooms - if I attack the whole house thoroughly, plus deal with children and dinner, I'm ready to collapse by 8 pm ... and I'm physically fit!! Here is what I'm working on:

1. Get up before your children (if you have them, and if at all possible). Drink your coffee or tea, get yourself together, get ready for your day, get your act together. This goes at the top of all lists -- it's a huge help in all things. My children get up at 7am (no one is allowed out of their rooms sooner ... except for bathroom, etc., if they can't get back to sleep, they can read a book.) and I get up at 5:30am. I've been working on creating this habit and now I get up at that time automatically. It makes for a much calmer, happier morning routine for everyone. ... I digress ...
2. Make a list of all of the housework that you expect to be done.
3. Create a daily cleaning ritual. Top things that you always do EVERY DAY. Currently I'm trying Kristi's routine. Link it HERE.
4. Pick one day during the week to tackle the big cleaning projects.
5. Select certain cleaning projects to do on different days throughout the week.
6. Select certain cleaning projects to do at the beginning of the month that need to be done once a month.
7. Stream line your house. Make it CLEANING FRIENDLY. Position things so it's easy to get your vacuum in (like how your coffee table is positioned - how shelves are positioned). Get rid of unnecessary clutter. Decorating is cute and all, but don't go overboard with nick-knacks that collect dust and make cleaning take an eternity. (sorry nick-knack lovers) Down size your piles -- like books that I keep under my coffee table ... the more that are there, the longer it takes to clean. Keep it simple.
8. Give your children jobs! They can help ... even the small ones ... and it's important to teach them early to create good habits. (Some come out naturally neat, some come out naturally messy. I have one boy that's like Pigpen from the Peanuts, and one that's like my Portuguese Mother-in-Law -- it's genetics, the boy is just neat!)
   

Here is my list (a work in progress) of housework that needs to be done on a weekly basis. I'm still working out how I will break this down throughout the week (more on that later ... after I work it out :) ). It's a good idea to assign days to do certain things. I know that sounds really psycho OCD, but the idea here is to make it a habit, and make sure it actually happens. In this way, schedules help. You plan ahead and create a realistic schedule that will work for you ... and therefore the housework will actually get done:

1. Wake up before your kids. (did I mention that already?)
2. Vacuum thoroughly.
3. Clean bathrooms thoroughly. (When I say thoroughly, I mean -- we are not talking spot clean, I'm talking scrubbing every inch of the place with elbow grease -- and rags of course -- so that Emily Post could walk in a feel proud.)
4. Wash Floors and Walls of high traffic areas thoroughly on your hands and knees while scrubbing hard.
5. Dust all of the furniture.
6. Change all of the beds. I have my 9 year old strip the beds and plunk the sheets in the laundry room. Start a load of laundry and (I do dry these in the dryer unless I can dry them outside in the fresh air) they will be dry and ready to go by the time you're 1/2 way through your cleaning projects.
7. Wash windows with hand prints and dog nose prints on them. (grrrrrrrr)
8. Empty waste baskets (this should be done when you're done with a bag of kitchen trash which for us is once a week b/c we recycle and compost -- before you bundle it up go around and gather up trash from waste baskets around the house.
9. Tidy up the FRIDGE.
10. Iron. (This is an area I struggle with.)
11. Tackle a project on your project list. This is a Simplify Your Life idea that is fabulous. I'll talk more about projects later -- but for starters tackle something relatively small that's driving you bananas, and get it done!

Did I miss anything?
I will post more on my daily cleaning routine later ... this is getting long!
The whole idea is for this plan to become routine and manageable. What works for you? Do you have any advice for me as I go to make my cleaning schedule?

The Organizational Dilemma

I have a confession to make. It's been two years since I have read Simplify Your Life: Get Organized and Stay that Way with my SIL Tanya ... and, I've fallen off the organizational wagon. Simplify Your Life is a terrific book that isn't corny or impractical -- rather it encourages you to create systems of organization in your life that in turn help you to SIMPLIFY. Now, most people would say (go ahead guys, you can comment) that my house is neat, clean and put together. My dilemma is that I am very creative, spontaneous and sporadic (see poem below). I need to be purposeful. So, I am recommitting myself to getting back onto the organizational wagon. For the next month I'll be talking now and then about Simplifying & Organizing specifically in the areas of Housekeeping, Scheduling, Meal Planning, Beating back the Clutterbug, and Projects. Join in. Comment. Suggest. Encourage. What works for you? What hasn't worked for you? I am going to be throwing out some ideas -- share some of yours. Take the journey with me and tell me how you are progressing.

Left unchecked, my world can be like this If You Give A Moose a Muffin spoof poem that some creative genius wrote:

If You Give a Mom a Muffin

If you give a mom a muffin,She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.

So she'll pour herself some.The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.

She'll wipe it up.Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.

She'll remember she has to do some laundry.

When she puts the laundry in the washer,She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.

Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.She will get out a pound of hamburger.

She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With a Pound of Hamburger.)

The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.

She will look for the checkbook.The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.

She'll smell something funny.She'll change the two year old.

While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring. (Of course!)

Her five year old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come over for coffee on Friday.

Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.She will pour herself some.

And chances are,If she has a cup of coffee, Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.